NOVEL WEB Chapter 95: Star, The Ice Crystal (2)
[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ hates you, who stole the gift he[1] gave to his apostle!]
‘Why did Lamashtu suddenly appear?’ Chang-Sun wondered.
Lamashtu had originally been an evil spirit, but he had become a deity who made people catch fevers with his strong winds. Still, he occasionally protected his followers from misfortune, so he was not considered completely evil. At some point, he had become acquainted with Chang-Sun. During the Myth War, he had not taken Chang-Sun’s side, but at least he had not joined Chang-Sun’s enemies. Why was he suddenly angry at Chang-Sun now?
‘…Gwak Do-Woon is his apostle,’ Chang-Sun realized, smiling bitterly after reading the message.
The person Chang-Sun had coincidentally clashed with was his old acquaintance’s apostle. He had not noticed, because he had not seen any traces of Lamashtu in the Skills Do-Woon used.
‘I didn’t want to end up on bad terms with Lamashtu,’ Chang-Sun thought, but he could not bring Do-Woon back from the dead. He sighed lightly. ‘I can’t do much about it.’
Although he felt truly apologetic toward Lamashtu, he could not reveal his identity and make an apology to Lamashtu. Besides, he had thought such a thing would happen someday, and even if Lamashtu adored Do-Woon, the man’s actions had still been unforgivable.
‘I’ll have to apologize if I get a chance later,’ Chang-Sun decided.
Fortunately, Lamashtu stopped sending messages. It seemed he had left for somewhere else, but Chang-Sun could tell Lamashtu would continue to get in his way in the future.
‘[Jade Smashing Fist], huh,’ Chang-Sun suddenly thought. Lamashtu had given the Skill to his apostle, so how powerful would it be if he mastered it? Chang-Sun’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
* * *
Cha Ye-Eun had been chasing after Do-Woon with her subordinate agents, but the red fog from the [Phantom Maze Circle] had suddenly scattered. Her eyes widened as she muttered, “What…?”
The complicated structure of the [Phantom Maze Circle] made it difficult to disable the trap from the outside, making it particularly dangerous, as those outside had no way of telling what was going on inside. Ye-Eun had known that fact very well, but she had been about to send in her men as she had no other choice. However, something unexpected was happening, leaving her in shock.
“Seonbae-nim! People are coming down from the mountain!” Jin Seok-Tae, Ye-Eun’s partner, exclaimed while pointing in a certain direction.
When Ye-Eun turned to look, she was even more shocked, exclaiming, “What?”
Several survivors were walking down the mountain, including Woo Yeong-Geun, the gravely injured Seo Jeong-Gwon, and many Myeongga Clan Players. Most of them had sustained injuries, both large and small.
“What are you all doing?! Help the injured!” Ye-Eun commanded, dispatching the agents on standby after belatedly realizing her mistake.
The rescue team moved busily and carried the wounded off on stretchers, and healers tended to those who needed first aid. The entrance of the [Phantom Maze Circle] became chaotic in a flash.
“Are you from the Council?” a man asked as he came forward from the crowd of survivors.
When Ye-Eun saw the man, she was quite surprised to recognize a familiar face. The man was Lee Chang-Sun, whom she had considered recruiting for the Council.
“Yes, I am. What on earth happened…?!” Ye-Eun quickly asked. gyeo-ul
“I’ll explain the situation later in detail. Could you extradite these men first?” Chang-Sun replied, nodding at Baek Gyeo-Ul. Gyeo-Ul handed the three people he had tied up with his shadow to Ye-Eun as Chang-Sun continued, “They’re some of the Highoff Clan’s illusion mages who created the [Phantom Maze Circle], but I couldn’t locate Gwak Do-Woon, who seems to have disappeared a long time ago.”
“How did you find these people…?!” Ye-Eun asked.
“I got lucky,” Chang-Sun nonchalantly answered.
Ye-Eun was at a loss. If Chang-Sun had merely been lucky to have caught three illusion mages, how could she describe the Council agents who had failed to even figure out the structure of the [Phantom Maze Circle]? However, she asked no further questions because she had a feeling Chang-Sun would not give her the answer she wanted, no matter how hard she tried. She would have to dig up the information she wanted from the three illusion mages through interrogation.
Thus, she ordered Seok-Tae to extradite the mages and bowed to Chang-Sun, saying, “Thank you for your help.”
Chang-Sun nodded calmly as if it were nothing and passed by her. Ye-Eun unwittingly fixed her gaze on Chang-Sun, somehow feeling that this would not be the last time she met him.
* * *
News of Chang-Sun’s deed quickly spread among the volunteer Players.
“So Lee Chang-Sun disabled the Highoff bastards’ trap, huh?”
“Yeah, there was no official announcement, but he definitely did.”
“It’s nuts…! Even the Council said it would take time to completely disable the trap, but he did it from inside? He’s a freaking monster.”
“He either eliminated or captured the illusion mages who made up the focal points of the circle. After that, he found and rescued the survivors, including Woo Yeong-Geun and his niece.”
“When somebody asked how he did it, he answered he was just lucky.”
“I know, right? I thought he was really arrogant, but I guess he has a humble side.”
“Whoa, wow… People call him the ‘Tyrant’, and he’s truly living up to the name.”
Many people had thought Chang-Sun was a greenhorn who had simply lucked into talent, and did not deserve the nickname Tyrant. However, their prejudice was shattered by the current incident. Disabling the [Phantom Maze Circle] had to have taken more than luck; otherwise, that would mean the punitive force’s Clans and their Players were truly incompetent.
“But I heard someone else captured the illusion mages, not Lee Chang-Sun.”
“Yeah, I heard he controls shadows really well, so I want to see how he actually does it.”
At the same time, news about Gyeo-Ul, who had contributed significantly to capturing the illusion mages, also spread like wildfire. As many Players existed, there were many Skills and Attributes, but it was very rare to see a Player who could control shadow.
On top of that, several female Players had begun to tell other female Players about how Gyeo-Ul was tall and as handsome as Chang-Sun, and many of them began showing their interest in him. Gyeo-Ul naturally became a celebrity overnight, earning the title of ‘Shadow Ghost’—similar to that of the troublesome Do-Woon.
“Anyway, how did the White Tiger Clan recruit not only one but two talented Players? They’re so lucky.”
“They’re not the only talented players. I heard most of the White Tiger trainees are exceptional this year.”
“Life is so unfair.”
People also envied the White Tiger Clan, which made ‘someone’ delighted.
“Mwahaha!” Executive Director Oh burst into laughter, surrounded by White Tiger Clan members.
The Clan’s team leaders stood around awkwardly, knowing that Executive Director Oh usually laughed like this; meanwhile, the trainees just blinked, not knowing what was going on. On the other hand, the Future Strategy Department’s members maintained a straight face, but anyone could tell they were discontented.
Regardless, Executive Director Oh energetically patted Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul, who were both a head taller than him, multiple times. He guffawed and said, “The Myeongga Clan CEO said he’s so grateful that he’ll never forget what the White Tiger Clan has done for the Myeongga Clan.”
While chasing after Do-Woon, the Myeongga Clan had fallen into the [Phantom Maze Circle] and lost a significant part of their forces. However, they were actually the ones who were most indebted to Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul; if Chang-Sun had not helped them, they would not even be able to call themselves a major Clan anymore.
Chang-Sun noticed the way Executive Director Oh was making his and Gyeo-Ul’s achievement the White Tiger Clan’s, but he did not bother pointing it out.
“While some people aren’t worthy of their fancy titles…” Executive Director Oh furtively added.
Jeong-Gwon, who had been injured the most, smacked his lips. Raid Team 1 Leader Park Sang-Ho and Raid Team 4 Leader Yoo Hyeon-Jin quietly looked away. Meanwhile, Future Strategy Department Head Shim Geon-Ho’s expression turned grim; he realized Executive Director Oh was implicitly talking about him.
“Just keep up the good work. Keep it up! I want nothing more, hahaha!” Executive Director Oh praised Chang-Sun and Gyeo-Ul for a while before turning to the other Clan members.
‘He’s pouring oil on the fire,’ Chang-Sun thought, dumbfoundedly chuckling as he looked at Geon-Ho, who was giving him a death glare. Meanwhile, the Future Strategy Department’s members also frowned. It seemed Chang-Sun would never be a part of the department; in any event, however, it was not as if he needed that.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Executive Director Oh continued, “All of you saw what happened today, right? Lee Chang-Sun and Baek Gyeo-Ul are trainees just like you, so I hope the rest of you put more effort into keeping up. Our Guardian would also want you to do that.”
[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ smiles demonically as he looks at his claw candidates!]
“Then, I look forward to hearing great news about all of you,” Executive Director Oh concluded.
At the same time, Sang-Ho shouted, “Everyone, get ready!”
The White Tiger Clan began preparing to enter the Gate.
Although entering the Dungeon had been delayed for a long time due to Do-Woon and the [Phantom Maze Circle], that did not mean the punitive expedition against the Highoff remnants would be postponed to another date. In fact, the volunteer Players wanted to enter the Dungeon as soon as possible to get their revenge. The White Tiger Clan was no different, as they had sustained as much damage as the Myeongga Clan. However, the trainees were noticeably nervous, as it would be their first actual combat experience.
Gulp!
The trainees swallowed nervously.
“Enter!” Sang-Ho commanded again.
Soon, the Clan’s forces all marched toward the Gate.
* * *
Chang-Sun began to move with Gyeo-Ul, standing at the rear of the main unit.
“Hey,” Geon-Ho abruptly called out to Chang-Sun. After checking to make sure Executive Director Oh was not around, he glared intensely at Chang-Sun.
“What’s wrong?” Chang-Sun monotonously asked.
Geon-Ho’s expression hardened as he replied, “Don’t get cocky. You don’t really think Executive Director Oh genuinely adores you, do you?”
Gyeo-Ul frowned imperceptibly, but he silently observed the situation, thinking he was in no position to interfere.
“And don’t forget, it isn’t unusual to accidentally be shot in the head with an arrow on the battlefield,” Geon-Ho warned Chang-Sun.
Chang-Sun unwittingly chuckled. He thought it was pathetic to see a superior such as Geon-Ho staying vigilant against a subordinate who was so much younger than him, even though Chang-Sun cared nothing about Geon-Ho. However, Geon-Ho began to pass by Chang-Sun, thinking Chang-Sun only remained silent due to having understood his warning.
“Can I tell you something too?” Chang-Sun suddenly asked.
Tap!
Geon-Ho came to a halt and turned to Chang-Sun in annoyance. Chang-Sun simply said with a cold smile, “Don’t get cocky.”
“You bastard…!” Geon-Ho angrily began.
“You never know when someone might accidentally remove the thing atop your shoulders in the midst of a white snowfield, right?” Chang-Sun remarked.
Seemingly not having expected Chang-Sun to use his words against him, Geon-Ho frowned. However, Chang-Sun just smiled crookedly as if he were urging Geon-Ho to come at him, revealing his sharp canines.
1. Lamashtu was originally a goddess from Mesopotamian mythology, but she is a male deity in the novel. ☜